Spring has sprung, and country sounds fill the air. My favorite thing about this listening session is that there was no shortage of worthy DisCovery Award contenders. New to the column this week are 2 Steel Girls, Rainey Qualley, Bryan Hayes and Monty Byrom, any one of whom could have captured the crown.

But I’ve gotta go with the outlaw sound of Whitey Morgan & The 78s. This is the “honky-tonk alter ego of Eric David Allen,” who grew up in hard-luck Flint, Mich., and cut his extraordinary CD in Texas. Welcome to the party, son: You’ve got the goods.

The Disc of the Day belongs to Thomas Rhett, who manages to marry a loser’s lyric to a winner’s audio sunshine.

MONTY BYROM/Meet Me at MidnightWriters: Monty Byrom/Paul Kalman; Producer: Monty Byrom; Publishers: Byrom, SESAC; WTF (track)
-Remember the Bakersfield band Big House and its groovy 1997 hit “Cold Outside?” The group’s Monty Byrom now leads The Buckaroos at The Crystal Palace once a month and has his own blues-rocking combo The Road Pilots. With the latter, he has recorded his debut solo CD, 100 Miles South of Eden. That’s where you’ll find this swampy, soulful ballad beckoning a belle to sex and sadness. Very cool. The album’s last track, by the way, features the late Buck Owens singing with Byrom on a 1998 version of “Big In Vegas.”

COLE SWINDELL/Let Me See Ya GirlWriters: Cole Swindell/Michael Carter/Jody Stevens; Producer: Michael Carter; Publishers: Sony-ATV Tree/243/Sony-ATV Cross Keys; BMI/ASCAP; Warner Bros.
-He wants to see her “dance” in the bed of his truck, “movin’ your hips like the wind moves cotton.” It may not be the most romantic invitation in the world, but it is lively and tuneful.

BRYAN HAYES/Farther Down the LineWriters: Bryan Hayes; Producer: Andy Hunt; Publishers: none listed; BMI; BH (track)
– The title tune to his new CD finds this tenor Tennessee troubadour questioning the future of a relationship with plenty of catchy hooks. It has been seven years since his last collection because he wrote these 11 new songs while serving in Iraq. Welcome home, bro.

LIVEWIRE/Quit YouWriters: Andy Eutsler/Danny Bell/Jeffrey Joseph East; Producers: Paul Carabello/Clif Doyal; Publishers: Real Man/Parrot Island/Tazmaraz; BMI; Way Out West
-I remain a fan. This time, LiveWire takes on a dark ballad with the theme of love being like an addiction. Slowly insinuating.

2 STEEL GIRLS/Mad Black MagicWriters: none listed; Producers: none listed; Publishers: none listed; 2SG
-This is a mother-daughter duo — Allison and Krystal Steel — who competed on Team Blake during the 2012-13 season of The Voice. Their new single combines deep-thump rhythm and feisty-female “attitude” vocals. It drops on Tuesday, April 21. I’m intrigued.

TY BATES/Tongue TiedWriters: Ty Bates/Thomas Archer; Producer: Rogers Masson; Publishers: none listed; TB (track)
– I dig his Georgia drawl. The song’s idea is a clever play on stuttering and kissing. I like it, even though it is somewhat wordy and could use a more memorable chorus.

ADRIAN DUFFY & THE MAYO BROTHERS/United We FallWriters: Adrian Duffy/Melvin Duffy; Producers: Adrian Duffy/Melvin Duffy/Matt Kemp; Publishers: none listed; SR (track)
– The three Duffy brothers from Ireland have been tantalizing me with their excellent singles for a couple of years. Now they have a crowd-funded full album at last. Its title tune is chock full of harmony vocals, ringing guitars and echoey atmosphere. These guys have vocal, songwriting and production chops in abundance.

Album Releases

September 13Brett Young/The Acoustic Sessions [EP]/BMLG RecordsThe Lumineers
/III/DualtoneVarious/Country Music – A Film By Ken Burns (The Soundtrack) [2CD, 2LP and digital configurations]/LegacyGeorge Strait/Strait Out of the Box: Part 1 [Walmart re-issue]/MCA Records NashvilleHailey Whitters/The Days